1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic password protection. Particularly, the present invention relates to the storing of electronic passwords in a portable memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increasing use of the Internet for commercial purposes, the average consumer is being overwhelmed with “usernames” and their associated passwords. For example, to log on to an Internet news site, the consumer may have to generate their own six to twelve character user name as well as a password. These phrases must then be used whenever the consumer wishes to log on to that particular web site.
Most web sites require or at least strongly suggest the use of usernames and passwords. Financial transactions, in the interest of security, require such protection. This causes the consumer to face many problems associated with user name and password use.
For example, the web site may generate a user name and/or password for the consumer. These phrases are typically very cryptic, making them difficult to remember.
If the consumer desires to access dozens of web sites that require usernames and passwords, he or she must track each of these sites and its associated user name/password. The consumer may decide to write the information down. However, losing this information would then leave the protected information vulnerable to misuse. For example, if the consumer lost his or her user name and password for Internet banking, those accounts may be accessed by whoever finds the codes.
For convenience, the consumer may decide to make all of his or her user name/passwords the same for each web site. However, various web sites have different rules for the generation of such protection. One site may require that the password be only four characters and include at least one number. If the consumer has already generated a generic password for other sites that is six alphabetic characters in length, this will cause the consumer to generate and track the new password. There is a resulting need for a portable memory device that stores and protects all of a consumer's usernames and password protection information.